Notes from the Council Chambers

Release Date:

01/17/2018

Pendleton Development Commission met and heard from former City Councilor and downtown property owner Al Plute who has put a plan together to develop the 3rd floor of the Bowman Building, corner of S. Main and W. Frazier, converting commercial space to 16 living units. The bulk of them are planned to be studio apartments. The Urban Renewal District’s mission is “promote the vitality of the downtown.” Development of the second (or third) stories in the downtown is a way to increase vitality. Because this project includes living quarters makes this project much more attractive and I have no doubt this project will be funded.

As an aside, he is going to ask for 40% grant rather than 25% which is the current grant threshold. My concern is that we are working with 6 other building owners, hoping they will develop their second stories. If we give one of them 40% I think the commission might feel obligated to give everyone 40%.

The City Council heard from a citizen before the meeting was called to order, complaining about the fact that we cannot get Oregon news on the television. The City Attorney reported that this issue has come up before and that this is federal law. Council shared this persons frustration and discussed sending a letter to our congressmen to address our concerns.

When the meeting was called to order the Council heard from Fire Chief Ciraulo with an update on the Fire Bond project. He invited everyone to attend a public update on the fire station on February 6 in the Community Room. The project is scheduled to break ground this spring and be completed in the fall of 2019.

Council also approved a contract with a consulting firm to update the Resource Recovery Facility to comply with ADA and address a shortage of storage space for parts and equipment.